Warner Bros.’ The Conjuring Cinematic Universe grew larger this month with the release of director David F. Sandberg‘s spin-off prequel Annabelle: Creation. Sandberg got his start making a short film called Lights Out that he then went on to adapt as a feature. Recently, he and Warner Bros. created a similar opportunity for up-and-coming filmmakers to get their names out there by holding a short film contest for stories that would fit well into the world of The Conjuring films.

The United States winner has been announced (other countries’ winners will be announced soon), and it’s a short called The Nurse from director Julian Terry. Check it out below.Read More »

(This review originally ran following an early screening at Comic-Con. Annabelle: Creation is in theaters today.)

While sequels tend to have trouble measuring up to the originals, in the horror world, there are plenty of occasions in which a follow-up, no matter how deep into the franchise fans have gone, turns out to be a surprisingly satisfying entry into its canon. In the case of Annabelle: Creation, we’re handed a sequel that runs circles around the original, both as a quality film and as a gruesome, terrifying piece of horror storytelling.Read More »

We’re still a couple months out from Halloween, but the folks at Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line want to get the scares started early by expanding The Conjuring cinematic universe.

Annabelle revealed more of the story behind a possessed doll that was first introduced in The Conjuring in 2013, but it wasn’t quite up to snuff with the kind of terror that director James Wan had delivered before. Maybe that’s because the spin-off was rushed into production after the success of The Conjuring, leaving little time for writer Gary Dauberman to craft a truly compelling and scary horror film. Thankfully, that’s not the case with the new prequel, Annabelle: Creation.

Get a taste of the scares in store for audiences with some new Annabelle: Creation clips below. Read More »

Because everything needs to be explained to death nowadays, we’re getting Annabelle: Creation, the origin story of the possessed doll that made its debut in The Conjuring before getting its own spin-off in 2014.

Continuing to expand the mythology of the supernatural, paranormal activity investigated by Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) Warren, Annabelle: Creation shows us how this creepy doll came to be possessed by some kind of evil spirit, tricking a couple grief stricken by the loss of their daughter to transfer a demon into the old fashioned toy. In an attempt to pay for their mistake, they shelter a group of orphan girls, one of who becomes the next target for Annabelle.

The summer season is almost upon us and you know what that means: movies are about to get bigger, louder, and more expensive. And, if we’re lucky, they’ll also be pretty great!

The /Film team examined the list of every single major wide release (our indie and streaming preview arrives next week) hitting theaters this summer and argued, debated, and occasionally agreed on which 25 movies we’re most looking forward to watching over the coming months. The staff then voted, ranking them from “movies we want to see” to “movies we want to see right now.” So here’s our 2017 summer movie preview, which features superheroes, evil dolls, talking cars, pirates, sharks, dead strippers, World War II, and so much more.

Even though The Conjuring spin-off Annabelle showed us one of the earlier supernatural frights created by the doll that eventually ends up in the hands of paranormal investigators and demonologists Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) Warren, we still don’t know much about where the creepy toy came from. But we’ll find out late this summer.

Annabelle: Creation will take us back even further into the history of the possessed doll with Lights Out director David F. Sandberg bringing us the origin story of how this doll became evil and who it terrorized first.